Colombian Buñuelos Recipe

Colombian Buñuelos are soft spongy cheesy dough treats deep fried until golden and crispy on the outside! Not savory but not sweet either!

Enjoyed throughout the Holiday season (even better with a slice of Natilla) or all year long as a snack, these treats are one of Colombia’s most popular foods. Make them at home with this easy step-by-step Colombian Buñuelos Recipe!

Colombian Buñuelos Recipe

Colombian Buñuelos are soft, spongy, cheesy dough treats deep fried until golden. They’re not savory but they’re not sweet either which means you can enjoy them as a snack whenever!

Traditionally though, Buñuelos are a very popular Christmas treat so you’ll often find them paired with Colombian Natilla which is a very much loved Christmas dessert just like in the picture below!

These are plain but you can also stuff them with guava paste, cheese (or both, or even dulce de leche!

Bunuelos Ingredients

Cheese. Ideally, you’d want to use “queso costeño” which is a rather firm salty cheese similar to feta but less tangy. If you can’t get your hands on that, I would recommend feta cheese or queso fresco (or even a mix of both). I don’t recommend using other cheeses such as mozzarella, etc because the texture and flavor would very different.

Cornstarch. This is one of the key ingredients so it can’t be substituted.

Cassava starch also known as cassava flour or yuca starch/flour. This is another key ingredient so it can’t be substituted. If you have leftover cassava starch after making buñuelos, I recommend you try Pan De Yuca (Cheesy Cassava Bread) next, it’s SO good!

Sugar. Stick to white granulated sugar for this recipe, you’ll need just enough to neutralize the saltiness of the cheese and make your buñuelos salty-sweet.

Baking powder. I’ve seen people omit this but I recommend using it as it helps the texture come out lighter and fluffier. When I tried leaving it out, the texture was much tougher.

Salt for a balanced flavor.

Eggs for structure.

Butter for both texture and flavor.

Milk to help the dough come together.

How to make Colombian Bunuelos

STEP ONE: Grate the cheese. This might seem time consuming but you need the cheese to really blend into the dough and because you’re using a rather firm cheese, you’ll need to shred it with the fine side of your grater. The finer the better.

STEP TWO: Make the dough. Add the grated cheese, cornstarch, cassava flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, and butter to a large bowl and start mixing until a dough comes together. Add in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time making sure to knead well before adding more.

You want the dough to be smooth and hydrated but not sticky, the consistency should be similar to that of Pan De Yuca or Play-Doh.

STEP THREE: Fry. I recommend using a kitchen thermometer for these because they truly need the oil to be at the right temperature. Add enough oil to the pot for the buñuelos to float (they’re rather heavy) and make sure that the oil reaches 320F – 340F (160C – 180C) in temperature.

Fry the buñuelos in batches of 3-4 in order to not overcrowd the pot (overcrowding leads to temperature drops) until golden, about 5 minutes. You can use a spoon or a spatula to flip them if necessary.

Bunuelos vs Pan De Yuca

Some of you asked what is the difference between Bunuelos and Pan De Yuca! They’re actually very different but they do contain very similar ingredients!

Colombian Bunuelos are made with both cassava flour (yuca) and cornstarch, even though the ration used varies depending on who’s making them like all traditional recipes. And, of course, they’re deep fried and have a hint of sugar in them!

Pan De Yuca is made with just cassava flour (yuca), doesn’t contain sugar so it’s definitely savory, and it’s baked in the oven like regular bread. This is how it’s known in Ecuador but you can find it in Colombia as well with a different name and even Brazil.

Can I make these ahead of time?

No, I don’t recommend it. Buñuelos are fried and as all fried goods, they’re best eaten as they’re made!

Can I store bunuelos?

You can but I don’t recommend it as fried goods are best eaten fresh. If you think you’ll have leftovers, I recommend cutting the recipe in half.

If you do have leftovers, you can store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days and reheat them when you’re ready to enjoy them!

How to reheat bunuelos

Air-fryer: this is the method I recommend. Set your air-frier to 250F (120C) and reheat for 5-6 minutes.

Microwave: microwave for up to 10-15 seconds.